I am barely able to swing my budget to afford a red Bertazzoni -- just found out -- and I am very excited. I must admit I am looking at aesthetics as a big consideration. I have just come across the Verona online, knew nothing at all about it, have never seen one in person. Prior to this, I was looking at ranges around $2500 such as KitchenAid, GE, etc. I like the idea of knobs only, though. I am also nuts about the idea of a RED range.

I like to bake -- just simple things such as pies, cakes, cookies. Haven't taken up breadmaking yet. Most of our daily cooking is done on the rangetop, a lot of sauteing, stews, etc. Our current stove is a Magic Chef of unknown age, knobs only, little heat output or control over burners and very, very uneven oven heating. As you can see, anything is going to be an upgrade for us!

Some of my concerns include service, even heating, etc. I understand that the oven is quite small, but I don't think that is a concern. I should be able to hack something for the once-a-year turkey, and my guest list is small: 6-8 people. No 20-lb turkeys. I am not too concerned about heat output from the oven as I live in a cold climate (VT). I love the idea of a higher output burner and a simmer burner.

I will be converting this range to propane. I also cannot have an externally vented hood -- I will be using a recirculating one.

Thanks in advance.